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Strengthening Legal Enforcement Institutions to Combat Human Trafficking in Lao PDR

The Ministry of Justice in Lao PDR and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) hosted a workshop on Human Trafficking entitled Strengthening of the Legal and Law Enforcement Institutions to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking.

This workshop was held on13 March 2007. The workshop lasted until 16 March to raise awareness and understanding among law professionals, line ministries and different authorities to prevent and combat human trafficking.         

Three-day event focuses mainly on the requirements and the need to adopt and amend legal provisions to implement the Trafficking in Persons Protocol (TIPP) and the Transnational Organised Crime Convention (TOC) within the Lao legal context and strengthen the understanding of the qualification and identification of human trafficking through a practical and realistic case study approach.        

 "Human trafficking is one of the worst violations of human rights which the United Nations confronts. It is widespread and growing," said Mr Richard Philippart, representative of the UNODC. "Some estimate that between 700,000 and 2 million people are trafficked globally each year and this outnumbers the figures we know of slavery," he continued.         

Mr Philippart said that Southeast Asia was often seen as source region for trafficking and all countries are concerned as source, transit or destination country. "The situation in the Lao PDR is of great concern." In 2000, the international community set up a number of infrastructures to combat human trafficking and organised crime, which the UN General Secretary, Mr Koffi Annan qualified as a milestone in the global struggle for the rule of law.         

These instruments are the United Nations Convention against Transitional Organised Crime, the so called Palermo Convention, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land Sea Air.         

The Lao PDR is partly to the Palermo Convention and protocols and is committed to address the problem of human trafficking vigorously. Mr Philippart was quoted as saying.

Adapted from: "Strengthening legal enforcement institutions to combat human trafficking." Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies. 14 March 2007.

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Picture of Participants at UNODC Workshop 1

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